Ontario municipal election 2022: Big names running for mayor

Citynews.ca
Oct. 19, 2022

With the municipal election now only days away CityNews is taking a look at some of the high-profile names running for mayor, including former provincial party leaders and one well-known Toronto city councillor.

There are 26 candidates running for mayor in the City of Toronto and a full list with contact information can be found here. The final mayoral debate was held on Monday where incumbent John Tory, his main rival Gil Peñalosa, as well as Chloe Brown, Sarah Climenhaga and Stephen Punwasi made their final pitch to voters.

Everything you need to know about how and where you can vote in the Toronto municipal election can be found here.

Here is a look at other high-profile candidates running for mayor in municipalities in southern Ontario.

High-profile mayoral candidates
Andrea Horwath -- Hamilton
Former Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath is running for mayor of Hamilton.

Horwath stepped down as party leader -- a role she held for 13 years -- following the provincial election in June, after failing to unseat Premier Doug Ford and his Conservative government. Her party held on to Official Opposition status.

A recent Mainstreet research poll suggest Horwath holds a comfortable lead over her closest challenger heading into Monday’s vote.

Hamilton mayor Fred Eisenberger announced he would not seek re-election after serving three terms in office.

Horwath is leaving her MPP seat in Hamilton Centre to run in the mayoral race. She previously served as a city councillor in Hamilton before heading to Queen’s Park.

Steven Del Duca -- Vaughan
Like Horwath, Steven Del Duca announced he would be running for mayor of Vaughan in August after stepping down as leader of the provincial Liberal Party following his election loss to Doug Ford in June.

Del Duca received a big endorsement from the city’s outgoing mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, who has served in the role for the last 12 years.

Bevilacqua said he would be voting for Del Duca, claiming the former Liberal leader “has the experience, energy, and vision to continue delivering strong, stable, and accountable leadership at city hall.”

The former Liberal leader is widely seen as the frontrunner and is going up against six other candidates.

Patrick Brown -- Brampton
After much speculation about his future this summer, Patrick Brown announced he is running for re-election as mayor of Brampton.

He made the announcement after he was booted out of the leadership race for the Conservative Party of Canada. Brown was disqualified from the federal leadership race over an allegation that he breached federal financing laws.

A group of five Brampton city councillors released a statement shortly after Brown was forced out of the federal race, claiming he has what they describe as a “clear and alarming pattern of behaviour.”

Brown entered the Conservative leadership race without resigning his job as mayor and previously said he would consider running again in Brampton’s October municipal election if he thought he couldn’t win the federal job.

Despite the scandals and the implication that the mayoral job was his second choice, experts seem to believe Brown will have little competition in his second campaign for mayor.

Those going up against Brown include former Liberal MP Ramesh Sangha, who was booted from the Liberal caucus last year, and Nikki Kaur, a senior administrator for the city and whistle blower who attempted to bring down several high-ranking city officials.

Giorgio Mammoliti -- Wasaga Beach
It may not be in the GTA, but one mayoral candidate in a town north of the city has strong ties to Toronto city council.

Former councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, who was well-known for making headlines during his time in council, is running for mayor of Wasaga Beach. Mammoliti lost his North York seat in the 2018 election after more than two decades as a councillor.

Leslie Farkas, the owner of a commercial aviation company, is one of his contenders. Farkas ran for town council in the last election but lost. The other two candidates running for mayor are incumbent Nina Bifolchi, who was elected to her first term in 2018, and Brian Smith, who was the mayor prior to Bifolchi.

Mammoliti’s legacy also may continue in Toronto as his son, Christopher, is running for his father’s former councillor seat in Humber River-Black Creek.